Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

70 reviews

annainthebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, and Racism

cocostephh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

marlenealina's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

dorianscale's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Mental illness

Minor: Abandonment

lepasseportlitteraire's review

4.0

✨ « The only time I heard people talk about depression was when they were using it as a synonym for sadness, and so I never thought of it as a disease »
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✨ Synopsis
The story is told by Gifty, an American neurology researcher with Ghanaian origins. She finds herself living with her mother and taking care of her as she struggles with depression
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✨ The book is a beautifully written story raising a lot of issues : from depression, to the relationship to religion, and the difficulties of growing up in the USA being black.
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✨ I found the story very touching and the insight on religion very deep and interesting to read. On the other side, reading about Gifty’s mother depression was not always easy, and if you know someone suffering from depression or you yourself suffer from it, it might trigger some negativity for you. The same goes with drug addiction and family abandonment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Abandonment

adeliab's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Addiction, and Abandonment

scruffie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Heavy book. My first Gyasi read and I have to admit that I really liked the writing style: clearly literary, but also direct. I really appreciated the book's nuanced view on depression and addiction, the focus on understanding, not judging.

I also liked the book's perspective on the internal conflicts people who have been brought up in a religious setting face, and in particular how that interacts with the scientific point of view. Coming from a similar place myself I found that part very relatable.

Time to look for Gyasi's other books :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Child death, and Sexism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Violence

Minor: Vomit

pollyhall's review against another edition

Couldn't relate to characters in story.<Object to animals used for medical testing>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Mental illness

fromstephspages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was… just, wow… So let me try to explain what I just experienced and loved: Gifty’s depth, introspection, and her raw experience with her family. Her flaws, vulnerability, and honesty. Her questions and interwoven research and statistics. Her  personal exploration of science and religion. Everything! The writing just pulls you in and not only was I left not wanting to put this down but also thinking about the story throughout the day. I found myself relating more than I’m comfortable admitting and I legit got goosebumps at the end of the book. This might be my favorite book of the year. 

Find me on IG @bookrecswithsteph

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, and Vomit

sadiereadthat's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Mental illness

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Abandonment